File this under the I-can’t-believe-this-is-a-real-holiday-but-I’m-sure-glad-it-is category. January 17th marks Hot Buttered Rum Day, and as with all drinking holidays, we’re happy to partake. Hot Buttered Rum is one of our favorite seasonal drinks and is a nice change-of-pace from egg nog and spiked cider. Rum is the perfect base for this buttery libation, which is spiced up with allspice dram and apple cider. There are several quality recipes for Hot Buttered Rum, but this year we’re making the below recipe, courtesy of Kenneth McCoy and NYC’s Rum House. Hot Buttered Brugal 2 oz Brugal Añejo Rum 1 teaspoon honey ½ teaspoon butter 4 oz hot...

Ron Abuelo makes a line of fine rums, including the Ron Abuelo Anejo and the Ron Abuelo 7 Anos. The latter is a blend of Panamanian rums produced entirely from estate-grown sugar cane and then aged seven years in small oak barrels. Ron Abuelo 7 Anos is a rich, amber-colored rum with aromas of vanilla, caramel and fresh sugar cane. Flavors range from more vanilla and caramel to cocoa, toffee and honey. That sweetness fades in the finish, with lingering notes of dry leather and citrus. It’s exceedingly easy to sip, and even rum novices will be hard-pressed to find...

Denizen Rum is a new white rum that harkens back to the days of yore, when white rums were full-flavored spirits to be both sipped and enjoyed in complex cocktails. To achieve its desired flavor profile, Denizen enlisted rums from Trinidad and Jamaica and expert rum blenders from Holland. Denizen Rum starts with column-distilled rums from the Angostura Distillery that are charcoal-filtered and aged up to five years in small bourbon barrels. From there, 15 types of Jamaican pot-distilled rums are added to the mix and blended in Amsterdam (a city that’s been blending rums since the 1700s, when the...

Plantation Grande Reserve Rum falls under the Cognac Ferrand umbrella, and each rum in the Plantation range undergoes a two-step maturation process. Step one involves aging in the Caribbean in American oak; step two moves the rum to France, where it’s finished in old French oak casks. In this case, the Barbados-sourced Plantation Grande Reserve is aged for five years in ex-bourbon barrels in the Caribbean before heading to France. The result is a rum that’s rich in flavor and aroma, with notable oak accents. On the nose, Plantation Grande Reserve offers aromas of ripe bananas, toasted coconut, leather and...

The Jamaica Tourist Board recently invited a small press troupe, including yours truly, to Jamaica to experience the island’s local food and culture. We ate jerk chicken and indigenous fruits, suffered through the searing heat of Scotch Bonnet peppers, rode camels and went bobsledding in the jungle. And naturally, a trip to Jamaica isn’t complete without rum. Since the Jamaican beer options are lacking (choices range from Red Stripe to Red Stripe), I made certain to sample as many rums as I could. The rundown – Port Royal Gold Included in a room drop at our Spanish Court Hotel, Port Royal Gold seemed...

Mount Gay Eclipse Black is a recently-released 100-proof rum from Barbados. It rounds out Mount Gay’s Eclipse collection, which already includes a Silver and Gold rum. All Mount Gay rums are crafted with two stills – a traditional pot still and a column still – but Mount Gay Eclipse Black features a higher percentage of pot still distillate than the company’s other products. This, along with the higher proof (which equals less water dilution), yields a bolder, more flavorful rum. Mount Gay Eclipse Black is made from a blend of single and double distilled rums aged from two to seven...

September 20th is National Punch Day. While some associate punch with everclear, trashcans and college, a true punch (which is Hindi for “five”), is comprised of five main components: sugar, water, citrus, spice and alcohol. An Indian discovery, punch gained popularity amongst sailors who took advantage of the abundance of Caribbean sugar cane as a perfect ingredient for their new drink of choice. When punch arrived in the new world, many drinkers relished the taste, texture and simplicity of the drink, and enjoyed sharing it in large quantities. “It’s the original mixed drink,” says David Wondrich, drinks historian and author of...

This week Bacardi Rum announced the launch of Oakheart, its first entrant into the spiced rum market. This is a big announcement for the rum giant, which now offers rums across all categories – traditional, flavored and spiced. Bacardi Oakheart is created with a blend of rums mellowed in charred American white oak barrels. From there, spices including maple, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and vanilla are added. The result is what the company calls …a bold, spiced rum straight from the heart of charred oak barrels with an amber hue, a hint of smokiness and unique velvet-like smoothness.  Rich and oaky on the...

With National Rum Day quickly approaching (it’s August 16th) we’ve broken out our bottle of Old Monk Rum, a 7-year-old vatted dark rum hailing from India. Though it doesn’t get much notice stateside, it’s one of the best-selling rums in the world, and it’s India’s biggest liquor brand. Aside from the 7-year expression, Old Monk also produces a 12-year-old rum. On the nose, Old Monk is sweet, with notes of vanilla, molasses and butterscotch. Take a sip and it offers lots of caramel, plus some spice and dried herbs. Given the initial hit of sweetness, it finishes fairly quick and...

Last week, Tommy Bahama, the island-inspired restaurant chain, clothier and rum producer, announced a search to discover the first-ever Tommy Bahama “Rumologist.” Before you ask… A Rumologist is a person with a vast knowledge of all things related to rum – one that can pour, educate, mix and create island-inspired cocktails for Tommy Bahama,” explains Rob Goldberg, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Restaurants for Tommy Bahama.  “The person we are looking for must embody everything that a Tommy Bahama Rumologist should be about,” adds Goldberg.  “They must not only love to create cocktails and put new twists on old...